Joey Chestnut Set To Devour Rival Matt Stonie In 2017 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest


Joey Chestnut is ready to prove that what happened in 2015 was just a fluke. The nine-time Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest winner had his eight-year winning streak broken in 2015 when Matt Stonie beat him in the world-famous competitive eating contest by eating 62 hot dogs to his 60, but last year, the longtime champ took his title back at the annual event, which is held every July 4 on Coney Island.

For 2017, Chestnut, 33, tells TMZ Sports he is not impressed by Stonie’s recent three-minute In-On-Out 4×4 burger binge, questioning why it took his rival so long to down four of the sloppy four-pattie burgers. Joey also threw shade at Stonie’s skinny jeans and revealed that he had room in his belly for more hot dogs last July 4, but he didn’t feel the need to push himself unnecessarily since he knew he had won the contest.

In the video, which you can see below, Joey Chestnut seems extremely confident that he will once again beat Matt Stonie in the annual Nathan’s event. Chestnut won back his title as hot dog champ last July after downing a record 70 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, so that is the new record to beat.

In an interview with the Mercury News, Joey says he actually gets along with Matt Stonie but admits the younger competitor is not there to find a new bestie.

“He’s a serious competitor — like, ultra-serious,” Chestnut said of Stonie.

“He’s not there to make friends. He wants to win. I try to soften him up, but he stays serious.”

While he dethroned Chestnut in 2015, Stonie, 25, told the Mercury News he didn’t set out to be a food-eating champ, and there was never one moment when he decided he was going to be a competitive eater and challenge Joey Chestnut. But after tasting success, Matt is in it to win it. Matt admitted that while he likes Joey on a personal level when it comes to contest time, “you gotta mentally tell yourself, ‘I gotta hate this guy.'”

On the Against All Odds podcast, Stonie admitted he has met his match with Chestnut, especially since the most hot dogs he has even consumed at one sitting is 62. Matt thinks there’s no way Chestnut will let himself do any less than last year’s 70 dogs.

“Joey is an unpredictable guy, and he’s really good at hot dogs specifically,” Stonie said.

“But I’ll say this much — I’ll be showing up and giving it my all.”

Stonie also acknowledges that Joey Chestnut probably isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

“He’s picking up steam, so I just figure I’m just going to have to live with him for the next couple years,” Matt said.

[Image by Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images]

Joey Chestnut said he’s ready for Nathan’s because, with so many years of competitive eating under his belt, he now has his body figured out.

“I have a really good technique,” Joey said. “There has to be something wrong with me for somebody to beat me.

Chestnut previously told GQ that when he’s in training for the competition, he’s on a really strict diet of hot dogs, vitamin supplements, and water. Ahead of the Nathan’s contest, he’ll do a couple of practice eating contests a week, during which he’ll eat between three and six dozen hot dogs. During a 70-hotdog binge, Joey will pack on 20,000 calories in one sitting.

Chestnut has to special order the practice dogs directly from Nathan’s because the brand is hard for him to find on the West Coast.

“I have them ship by the thousand,” Joey told GQ.

The winner of the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest gets the coveted Mustard Yellow International Belt, as well as a $10,000 cash prize.

You can see defending champion Joey Chestnut face his biggest challenger when the annual Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest airs on Tuesday, July 4 on ESPN2.

Take a look at the video below to see Joey Chestnut trash talking Matt Stonie.

[Featured Image by Eric Thayer/Getty Images]

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